UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently entitled Official Singles Chart) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2004 and streaming in 2014. The full chart is a Top 200, though the OCC website contains the Top 100 only. Some media outlets only list the Top 40 (such as the BBC) or the Top 75 (such as Music Week magazine) of this list. Around 6,500 British retail outlets contribute sales data, as well as most UK online digital-download stores. Unlike charts in the United States, no airplay statistics are used for the official UK Singles Chart. The chart week runs from 00:01 Friday to midnight Thursday, with most UK physical and digital singles being released on Fridays. From 3 August 1969 until 5 July 2015, the chart week ran from 00:01 Sunday to midnight Saturday. The Top 40 chart is first issued on Friday afternoons by BBC Radio 1 as The Official Chart from 16:00 to 17:45, before the full Official Singles Chart Top 100 is posted on the Official Charts Company's website. A rival chart show, The Vodafone Big Top 40, is based on downloads and commercial radio airplay and is broadcast Sunday afternoons from 16:00 to 19:00 across 140 local commercial radio stations around the United Kingdom. The UK Singles Chart began to be compiled in 1952. According to the Official Charts Company's statistics, as of 1 July 2012, 1,200 singles have topped the UK Singles Chart. The precise number of chart-toppers is debatable due to the profusion of competing charts from the 1950s to the 1980s, but the usual list used is that endorsed by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and subsequently adopted by the Official Charts Company. The company regards a selected period of the New Musical Express chart (only from 1952 to 1960) and the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969 as predecessors for the period prior to 11 February 1969, where multiples of competing charts (none official) coexisted side by side. For example, the BBC compiled its own chart based on an average of the music papers of the time; many songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops prior to 1969 are not listed as chart-toppers according to the legacy criteria of the Charts Company. Inclusion criteria The full regulations may be downloaded from the Official Charts Company website. To qualify for inclusion in the UK singles chart, a single must be available in one or more of the following eligible formats: *Digital audio download music track of up to 15 minutes *Digital audio stream music track of up to 15 minutes *Digital single bundle of up to four tracks with a maximum of 25 minutes playing time *CD with up to two tracks *CD, DVD or other digital memory device with up to four tracks with a maximum of 25 minutes playing time *7 inch vinyl with up to three tracks or 12 inch vinyl with up to four tracks, and up to 25 minutes playing time *One song and any number of remixes up to a maximum playing time of 40 minutes There are minimum sales prices for all formats apart from on demand digital streams which may be from subscription or advertising funded providers and are counted at 100 streams equivalent to one paid download or physical sale. Records and statistics : Main article: UK Singles Chart records and statistics '' ''Most number-one singles *49 – James Harrison *21 – Elvis Presley *17 – The Beatles *14 – Cliff Richard *14 – Westlife *13 – Madonna *12 – The Shadows *12 – Take That *11 – In This Moment 'Most weeks at number one' *20 – "Judas" by Fozzy* *18 – "I Believe" by Frankie Laine* *16 – "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams *15 – "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet *14 – "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen *14 – "Unravel Me" by Scarlett *13 – "The Sound of Silence" by James Harrison *13 – "Blood" by In This Moment *12 – "With Arms Wide Open" by James Harrison* *12 – "Hands Held High" by James Harrison featuring The South London Gospel Choir *11 – "Rose Marie" by Slim Whitman *11 – "One Dance" by Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla* *10 – "Cara Mia" by David Whitfield *10 – "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston *10 – "Umbrella" by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z Note: Songs denoted with an asterisk (*) spent non-consecutive weeks at number one 'Best-selling singles'